Twinkle
by Biorex
Summary: A simple children's song may be the only thing holding Harry and Edward together as the wizard must struggle through his fears and nightmares. One Shot, Edward/Harry slash.


**Disclaimer- I don't own either of these stories or their characters.**

**Well, this is the first story I've posted on here, and its also actually my first try at a HP/Twilight crossover too, so we'll see how it goes over. This story wasn't exactly what I had intended when I started, but I think it turned out alright anyway.**

**Oh, and I was actually kinda "inspired" by the creepy/awesome version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star that plays in the game Dead Space (which I love, btw), if any of you know it.**

* * *

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are!  
Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky!  
When the blazing sun is gone, When the nothing shines upon,  
Then you show your little light, Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.  
Then the traveler in the dark, Thanks you for your tiny spark,  
He could not see which way to go, If you did not twinkle so.  
In the dark blue sky you keep, And often through my curtains peep,  
For you never shut your eye, Till the sun is in the sky.  
As your bright and tiny spark, Lights the traveler in the dark,—  
Though I know not what you are, Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

* * *

Edward's fingers slid thoughtfully through the sable hair of the young man that now laid his head on his chest. Though those emerald eyes he loved so much were currently lidded, he could see them dancing about restlessly.

Harry was dreaming.

The vampire's finger trailed lightly down the younger man's forehead, sliding softly across the bridge of his nose before lifting and repeating the motion. It was a habit he had picked up whenever trying to help his troubled raven slip again into blissful unconsciousness- until its discovery, it had sometimes taken a tag team effort between himself and Jasper's waves of calming emotions just to help him get to sleep. He smiled softly at how peaceful his mate looked.

Without even thinking, the song he was beginning to associate more and more with the 'light' of his life sprung to his mind even as it quietly did the same from his mouth.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star…"

* * *

A flash of red flared across Harry's vision even as screams erupted somewhere in the back of his mind. Whether they were his or someone else's, he couldn't be sure.

* * *

Harry shifted slightly in his sleep as Edward continued.

"How I wonder what you are…"

The amber-eyed man smirked at the ironic truth behind that line- Upon arriving in Forks, Harry had been nearly as much of a mystery as his own family was. The memories that thought generated managed to hold his attention just long to miss his sleeping raven curling his hands tightly into fists.

"Up above the world so high…"

* * *

Harry felt a cold, talon like hand grip his neck from behind. Hot breath buffeted his ear as a voice like a thousand needles stabbed at him.

"You've failed them, Harry."

He grimaced. Something churned violently in his chest, but this inferno inside wasn't fear; the wizard gritted his teeth as, instead, anger roiled up inside him, threatening to boil over.

"Whatever you say, _Voldie-dearest."_

Searing pain instantly lanced across his back- that scream was most _definitely_ his.

"_Insolent_…" Voldemort spat out the word as he paced behind him.

Harry took in a shuddering breath and forced himself to focus on something- _anything_ but the pain, the feeling of the blood slowly making the long trip down his back…

* * *

Edward leaned his head down slightly, bringing the protective walls of his body in closer as he felt Harry again stir against him. The words rumbled softly in his throat as he continued to sing.

"Like a diamond in the sky…"

* * *

There! That- thrumming.

Odd… he couldn't remember there being music playing when he awoke here, however quiet. And yet there it was, a dull sound in the back.

It served as an interesting contrast to the strangled scream that again blasted from his throat as something suddenly collided viciously with his back, adding another crimson line to the crosshatch.

The soft, stabbing voice again rose up behind him.

"You're weak, Harry."

He gritted his teeth, but remained looking forward. Even as he spat out a choked reply, he tried desperately to latch onto that song throbbing in the background, only to find it gone.

"You're right… my mistake. I forgot that _strength_ is maiming and killing the only people who might _ever_ have somehow summoned a _shred_ of compassion for you."

Harry's body stabbed with sudden unbearable pain as a series of particularly powerful lashings impacted on his back, sending up a spray of blood. He pitched forward, using his shackled hands to brace himself as he coughed out another scream from his ravaged throat.

The song- where was the song?

* * *

Edward's brow furrowed in concern as Harry's body jerked against him more fervently than before, this time accompanied by a quiet moan.

He swore as he remembered the promise Harry had forced him to make. He tried to tune into his mate's thoughts, but, as usual when he wasn't consciously lowering them, Harry's Occlumency shields held him away. Edward huffed out a taut breath.

Banking on a whim, he tried the only thing he could think of; he struggled to draw up the lesser known lyrics.

"When the blazing sun is gone, when the nothing shines upon…"

* * *

Harry idly felt Voldemort reaching forward into his mind and forcefully pushed him away.

"Wretched, _worthless_-"

Harry could feel the wounds exploding open, but he didn't care. Not anymore.

His song was back.

Vise-grip lips kept the screams from tearing free, but if anything, that just drove his tormentor to further levels of raging sadism.

* * *

Edward's fear for his mate began mounting as the sleeping head jerked even harder into his chest, groaning.

_Damn it Harry, why won't you let me wake up?_ He thought silently to the unresponsive man. His reply was just a louder, almost supplicant, groan.

Growling in frustration, Edward sought more words.

"Then you show your little light, twinkle twinkle all the night…"

* * *

A hand gripped Harry by the throat, hoisting him up and slamming his wounded back into the harsh obsidian wall. A groan escaped his lips as its surface grinded against his wounds.

Maniacal fury now danced in Voldemort's crimson eyes as he pressed harder on Harry's throat.

"No _children's song_ will save you."

Harry looked into those raging eyes, seeing emotions he could no longer reciprocate.

He smiled.

With Edward's voice ringing in his mind, he sang mockingly at the snakelike face in front of him.

"Then the traveler in the dark, thanks you for your little spark…"

Voldemort's expression was incalculable as he released Harry's bloody throat and took a step back.

"_Crucio!"_

* * *

Edward growled again protectively.

"_Fuck_ promises."

He gripped Harry's shoulders firmly, lifting and turning him so they faced each other.

"Harry. _Harry…_ Harry wake _up!"_ He shook the other man forcefully, but instead of doing as he was told, the younger man's head continued to rest limply on his chest, even as he muttered something about "traveler".

Edward felt cold, unfamiliar fear stabbing at him. What in hell was going _on?_

Not knowing what else to try, he pulled Harry into a sitting position leaning back against his chest. He gently rocked him side to side, his chin on Harry's head, as he tried to finish off the song.

"He could not see which way to go, if you did not twinkle so…"

* * *

Alice looked up at Jasper, her eyes wide with concern. Something wasn't right.

Edward's voice was getting increasingly rough as it tried, haltingly, to continue with the song. And if Jasper's facial expression was anything to go by, the emotions he was getting from Edward were just as concerning.

Jasper nodded at her silent question, and turned to head up the stairs.

* * *

Harry now lay on the ground screaming, no measure of control enough to keep it in. After a few moments more, the knives forcing their way under his skin slowly halted, giving Harry just enough time to take in a ragged breath.

The air punching into his lungs grounded him, reminded him of just what he was facing. Taking in a final gasp, he readied himself. The song that had rapidly become his everything roared in his ears as he glared up at his enemy with contemptuous eyes.

"Is that all you got?"

His voice was immediately choked off by an instant reply of blood and pain.

* * *

Edward's voice shook tremulously as he struggled to get out the words he had to say- the words that could end this.

"A-as your bright and tiny spark, lights the traveler in the dark…"

Jasper watched, concerned, from the doorway.

* * *

"You won't get the chance to fail your friends again, Harry."

A tiny crimson river slipped lazily from the corner of Harry's mouth as he looked up again.

Voldemort's face was twisted up in disgust, his wand pointed at him. Harry's voice came out as a gravelly mirror of its normal self.

"Oh no you don't."

Pure magic burned in Harry's emerald eyes as he lashed out at his tormentor. There was no true spell or incantation, just sheer, burning need.

Voldemort's crimson eyes flashed as his wand exploded in his hand, forcing him backwards.

Fueled by something greater, Harry pushed himself up onto his knees, his hands slipping in the blood pooling beneath him.

_His_ blood.

He ignored the feeling of the liquid seeping into his flesh long enough to continue.

"If you want to kill me… you'll have to do it the old way."

Voldemort stared at him for a moment, unmoving. Then, slowly, he drew the onyx dagger from his robes, giving every inch a moment in the limelight.

"… As you wish."

* * *

Edward struggled to take in another breath, though he wasn't entirely sure why, since he shouldn't have had to at all. His hand reached up and twisted in his hair in frustration and fear.

All he knew was he needed Harry to wake up.

_Now._

Still rocking him, Edward muttered out the next line.

* * *

Harry closed his eyes. He could lightly hear Voldemort coming closer, but above all he heard his song, flaring brightly in the front of his mind.

He swayed gently to the tune, his voice a choked whisper that resounded in the dim room.

Again, his voice merged with Edward's.

"Though I know not what you are…"

Harry felt Voldemort behind him, felt cold fingers coiling in his hair and pulling his head back.

Felt him lean down to whisper in his ear as, eyes closed, three men unknowingly sang as one.

"Twinkle, twinkle little star…"

* * *

Edward stabbed at Harry's mind with every ounce of strength left roiling in his body, determined to finally make entry.

He noticed dimly that Jasper had entered the room… that his hand was now on Harry's shoulder.

No words were necessary as explanation.

As one, the brother's pushed with all their supernatural strength, grabbing at whatever hold they could get in Harry's churning, cyclonic mind.

The wizard's eyes moved beneath their lids at almost untrackable speeds, violently flitting from left to right.

* * *

Voldemort was pressing on his mind from every conceivable direction, pushing with a force Harry could scarcely measure. Why now, just before the end, he had chosen to strike, the wizard couldn't know, but he could feel his shields finally breaking down under the strain, just as he felt something much more tangible touch the left side of his neck.

The dagger suddenly pushed in hard as it slowly sliced across his throat, easily breaking the skin and cutting down through. Cold metal instantly severed the arteries and destroyed his vocal cords on its cruel path.

Just as his world snapped to black, Harry felt his shields collapse.

* * *

Edward and Jasper simultaneously gasped as every backed up emotion and thought from Harry's nightmare exploded into being in their minds. With an abruptness completely foreign to him, Jasper's knees gave out, forcing him to fall back against the wall behind him.

Too shocked to control the overflowing feelings, the empathic vampire become a sudden, unknowing beacon for all of Harry's emotions as he inadvertently blared them outwards into the minds of all the Cullens.

Meanwhile, Edward blinked forcefully as he squeezed the arm of his couch so hard the wood inside snapped. Those thoughts… that dream…

_That_ was what Harry faced at night?

Edward immediately pulled his arms in, squeezing his mate to his chest tightly. Only fierce control kept him from holding so tight he would snap Harry's ribs.

Because, if he had thought it would save him from the nightmares, he would have held him so close there would be nothing left.

Jasper pushed off from the wall, finding the strength to again stand on his own. Just as he did, the rest of the Cullens, led by Alice, reached the doorway to Edward's room, summoned by the emotion explosion moments earlier. Alice was the first to speak, her voice soft when she did.

"Edward…"

Edward didn't bother to turn to face her, his eyes still locked on Harry. His raven's breathing had finally leveled out, and his eyes no longer flared beneath their lids. His response was terse.

"Later."

Alice's eyes continued to look with concern at Harry's unconscious form.

"But H-"

A sharp growl cut through the tense air.

"_Later, Alice._"

Jasper glanced over at Edward from his position on the far side of the room. The look boiling behind his amber eyes was not one to be taken lightly.

He stepped across the room, putting his hand on Alice's arm and lightly pressing her backwards. "Come on. Give him some time." He spoke softly, silently urging the others to follow him down the stairs. After a moment they complied, each chancing a glance back at the room on their way down.

A few more minutes passed in silence, with no response from Harry. With little else to do, Edward leaned back against the broken armrest, taking Harry with him.

"… You missed a verse, you know."

Edward emphatically released the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. That soft little voice he loved so much was back, though, admittedly, he sounded exhausted. He spoke softly into his mate's ear when he replied.

"You can hardly blame me- I was panicking. Just wanted the damn song over with…"

Harry spun lightly in Edward's arms so he was facing him. He let out a slight shudder as he did, his back tingling as if it could somehow make the wounds of his dreams real, but, with an innocent smile, the words Edward had missed inadvertently slipped from his lips.

"In the dark blue sky you keep…"

Edward's brow furrowed as he looked at him imploringly.

"Please, Harry- that song has freaked me out enough."

Harry's smile held as he let a finger slide down from the tip of Edward's messy hair, down his cold skin from his forehead, to his nose, and finally his bottom lip.

"And often through my curtains peep…"

"_Harry."_ Edward growled, and held him to his body tighter, willing him to stop.

Harry's widening smile proved his failure.

"For you never shut your eye, till the sun is in the sky-"

Edward finally lunged forward in desperation. His lips collided full on with Harry's soft ones, and with a press of his tongue he consumed the words his raven sought to further sing.

As they parted, Edward pressed a hand to the side of Harry's face.

"Look, you're _my_ little star, but just- no more singing. Please."

Harry's smile morphed seamlessly into a smirk.

"No more singing?" He faked incredulity. "Not even this one?" His mouth curved further as another children's song came to mind. "I love you, you love me…"

Edward laughed lightly, but in another instant his lips were again on a collision course with Harry's.

* * *

A small smile came to Jasper's face at the new emotions coming down from the second floor. He turned to face the rest of the concerned family.

"They're alright again." He glanced up at the stairs. "Happy."

* * *

It felt good to know that Edward was at ease, but Harry also felt something else- his vampire's hands moving on his back, seemingly with no intention of stopping.

Though he loved Edward's touch- nothing was better- he also had to acknowledge the pressing need for actual, restful sleep. He tried to push backwards off him.

Edward wouldn't let him.

"Where're you going?"

Harry sighed slightly. "Edward, I really do need some sleep. And a night staying up with you is great, but definitely anything but restful."

Edward mouthed a few words before actually replying, picking them carefully.

"But I- I don't like it when you're asleep."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Edward sighed, struggling to articulate his meaning. "When- When you're asleep, I can't… stop the bad things from coming after you. Especially when you make me promise not to wake you up."

"Edward…" Harry considered how best to explain. He again made an effort to push off him, only to be rebuked again. Resigned to his fate, he dropped down flush with Edward's chest with a sigh of his own.

"I don't want you to wake me because… Wh- I…" He blew out a breath of frustration and glanced up into those amber eyes. So much concern there…

"The… _demons_ in my life are all gone now- the only ones left are the ones in my mind." Harry found he couldn't look into those eyes anymore, so he turned down to the flawless chest below him. "I- I have to face them. Waking up is like… letting them win somehow."

He could tell from the slightly furrowed look on his face that Edward wasn't completely satisfied with the answer. And since the answer wasn't completely honest, he supposed it made sense.

He changed the subject.

"You have a great singing voice by the way." He said softly, smirking. Seeing that Edward still looked a little suspicious, Harry laid it on heavy. His hand glided up Edward's forehead and interlaced with his hair. Harry then tilted his head questioningly, almost like a dog would. "Why Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?"

Aaaand there it was. The Look.

The look that meant he had him. Edward always had been a softie for Harry when he put his cute face on.

All suspicion gone, Edward struggled for an answer as he tried to suppress the sudden urge to kiss Harry so hard he bruised that cute little face of his.

"Well, um… before it, uh… became way too creepy, I thought it kinda… described us."

Harry forced his emerald eyes to look as big and loveable as possible.

"Really?"

Edward cleared his throat in an attempt to do the same to his increasingly-dirty thoughts. Harry smiled, suppressing a laugh. Treading this thin line was always just a little too fun to resist.

"Yeah- I… I mean, you're like the little star and I'm, uh… I'm the… the…" His words trailed as Harry pressed his lips to the chest below him as lightly as he could- more of a whisper than a kiss.

Harry's smile widened as he looked up at his mate. "You're the…?" He prompted.

Edward shook his head to clear it. He spoke fast to get the words out. "Traveler. I'm the traveler who started to get lost in the dark, but then I… I found you."

Harry froze before lifting his head slowly from Edward's chest as the sincerity of his words sank in. The playfulness had left his voice when he replied.

"_I'm_ your little star?"

Amber eyes flared a violent gold as he looked down at Harry.

"Yes- Just like I said earlier." His hand again pressed against the side of Harry's face.

In that moment, something suddenly snapped inside the younger man. Without thinking, Harry let his body go on auto-pilot, which gave one simple command.

Intimacy detected: Run _now_.

It was an urge he had been taught from the fiascos with Ginny and Cho that he tried desperately to suppress now that he was with Edward.

But at this exact moment, no alternative seemed better.

"Well-" Harry flashed the fake smile he had become so accustomed to, "as it turns out, _this_ little star has to _tinkle tinkle_, so…"

Edward laughed at the play on words and finally released him. "Right. Sorry."

Harry quickly extricated himself from the couch and hastened out of the room, hearing a "Hurry back" trail after him, to which he gave a short wave in reply.

* * *

The distance from bedroom to bathroom was by no means a long one. But despite that, Harry barely had time to close and lock the door before he felt the tears rising up.

The young man slid down to the floor with his back to the door, pressing a hand firmly over his mouth.

There could be no gasping sob, not even too sharp an intake of breath, or else Edward and his damn hyper-senses would surely come bursting in, asking him what was wrong, and at this point, Harry just couldn't be asked to try and explain it all. Silent tears poured down his face and hit his hand, the only outward expression of his internal conflagration that he could allow. He let out a silent prayer of thanks for his reinstated Occlumency shields.

_What is _wrong_ with me?_

* * *

Jasper's brow furrowed at the change in the feelings on the floor above him. Edward's remained the same- relief, humor, love- but Harry's were suddenly gone again.

His interest piqued, Jasper took a chance and pressed lightly at Harry's mind, asking for entry.

* * *

Hand still over his mouth, Harry suddenly looked backwards fearfully at the door as he felt something pushing at the back of his mind.

In a moment of panic he thought it was Edward, but he soon realized that this one felt different, softer and less familiar.

Jasper. It had to be.

Harry bit his lip. Could he trust him with this? Could baring himself to the empathic vampire somehow help the sickening knot twisting away at his heart?

Harry closed his eyes.

Could it really do anything worse than he was already to himself?

Harry finally moved his hand away from his mouth and took in a slow breath, making it sound as normal as he possibly could.

With a silent prayer that he was making the right decision, Harry let down just enough of his shields to give Jasper access to his emotions, but still hold out Edward.

* * *

Jasper's eyes widened inadvertently at the rush of emotion that washed over him. Taking a moment to recover, he then focused in on each separate one, trying to identify them.

The first thing he felt was the confusion- all encompassing, surging uncertainty at Harry's own behavior.

Then came the anger. Anger at himself for not trusting anyone enough to just have it out and talk about the horrors he went through, and how they constantly replayed themselves in his mind at every moment of weakness.

Love for Edward, and a burning desire to tell him everything, every awful, stinging memory trapped inside so that they could finally be truly honest with each other- truly connected. There'd be no need for Occlumency.

But at the center of the maelstrom, fueling the entire cyclone, was the fear.

The fear of what Edward would think if he told him. The fear of the very memories he would have to recall. The fear of never again knowing a peaceful night, or of being alone again, or even of what he, Jasper, would think after he offered him all this.

With every ounce of control he had, Jasper pulled himself back out of the emotions and returned to his own mind. Not for the first time, he wished he could relay more than just emotions, but thoughts as well, as he struggled to think of a way to help Harry at this distance.

Going on a whim, he tried to imagine how it would look when Harry told Edward everything- how his brother would respond. He imagined how Edward would hold Harry and want to keep him safe, not be disgusted by the terrible memories. Finally, when he had focused in on the emotion that image caused in him, Jasper pushed it through the space between him and Harry and let it take hold in the young wizard's mind.

* * *

Harry's eyes closed as he felt the pulsing waves of feeling Jasper was sending him. His brow furrowed slightly as he got a hold of it.

It wasn't an emotion he was used to- it somehow seemed more faceted, _deeper_. As if there was a story behind it.

But at the core, it felt _warm_… safe. Not unlike that feeling he had gotten when he first realized he was Edward's mate. It somehow pushed a phrase to the front of his mind.

_He'll understand._

Harry's eyes flew open at the realization. His hand curled into a fist.

_He'll understand?_

Glancing backwards again, he slowly rose to his feet, sending out whatever waves of gratitude he could towards Jasper.

_Am I really gonna do this?_

Harry took in a steadying breath, not much caring if it sounded out of place to Edward. He then turned towards the mirror, preparing to wipe away his tears.

He suddenly thought better of it. If he was going to come clean and be truly honest with Edward, then he deserved to see everything, even the tears he would normally have hidden so vehemently.

Wishing there was something else to keep him (but knowing there wasn't), Harry put a shaky hand on the doorknob and twisted it.

The trip back to the bedroom suddenly seemed much longer than it had just minutes earlier, but Harry did his best to ignore it, instead thinking of how on Earth he was going to explain all this. Where to start? What to go to after that? It was one thing to know you were going to tell someone everything; it was quite another to actually figure out how to do just that.

Taking in a ragged breath, he stepped through the doorway, stopping just inside. It took a moment to find his voice, and it cracked when he finally did.

"E-Edward?"

His mate immediately spun around from his position on the couch. There was a flash of concern on his face when he noticed the tears now staining Harry's face, but before the wizard could analyze his expression further, Edward was suddenly directly in front of him, holding his arms.

Yeah. Definite concern there.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

His words were so fast Harry almost couldn't make them out, but he just shook his head.

When he replied, his voice was finally strong again, refusing to quake.

"We have a lot to talk about. Let's sit."

* * *

Alice smiled at the rest of the Cullen family happily, bouncing slightly on her seat.

"They're gonna be okay!"

Jasper smiled from his position beside Carlisle, relieved like the rest of them.

But truth be told, he didn't need to be able to see the future to know that.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**Comment if you like it... or even if you don't, so long as its constructive.**


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